Morgan finds himself at another career crossroads after semi-final heartbreak

EOIN MORGAN is not the type to rush, so when England won the World Cup in 2019, he took his time.

- Will Macpherson

Basking in the glory of a dramatic, confusing victory at Lord’s, his legacy as England’s greatest white-ball captain secure, Morgan said he would “let the dust settle” before deciding what next. A few weeks later, it was clear he would play on.

The circumstances were very different here last night, with New Zealand avenging that unforgettable defeat to knock England out of the T20 World Cup at the penultimate hurdle. But Morgan, now 35 and enduring a form slump, wasted no time expressing his desire to remain in his post.

Morgan has been a transformational presence in English cricket, the architect of an unprecedented period of success. He should go out on his own terms. Judging when, where and how is desperately tricky.

The Covid backlog means there is another T20 World Cup next year. England, again, will be strong contenders. Their team will likely look very different. Hopefully, Ben Stokes will return, so, too, Jofra Archer, probably Sam Curran. Jason Roy and Tymal Mills were a major part of England’s success early in this tournament.

Quite when generational change takes place for this side is unclear. After 2019, England’s idea of transition was to unceremoniously dump Liam Plunkett and to take a raft of young players on a T20 tour of New Zealand, none of whom made it to this tournament.